The NY Mosque & What our Founding Fathers' Would Have Done

The 1st Amendment of our Constitution states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"

The controversy over the proposed Muslim community center with a prayer room a couple blocks from Ground Zero (which has been called a "Mosque") would have been supported by our founding fathers. Why?

Because that was one of the reasons they fled England, which under Henry 8 (VIII) made the Church of England the official church (because the Catholic church wouldn't let him divorce his wife, so he had her head cut off instead).

Our founding fathers saw the negative things that happens when one religion dominates a country as the "state religion," hence the language they wrote "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"

To make exceptions (you can build anything but a Mosque) violates that founding American principle. There was a time that Catholic churches and Jewish synagogues were banned. That was wrong for the same reason.

Now, for both Christians and Jews to suddenly say that the 1st Amendment should not apply to Muslims, because a few of their conservative extremists conducted an attack not unlike the Catholic IRA bombing in Northern Ireland of the 1970's is violating that other hallowed American principal: equality of treatment.

I am shocked that the Jewish ADL came out for the ban on construction, considering it has been on the vanguard of fighting against religious discrimination and for good reasons. Jews have been discriminated against for many centuries. But in saying that same rule doesn't apply to an Islamic community center, it is basically saying that its fights against religious discrimination has exceptions when it comes to Muslims. That throws out the very reason of its existence.

I have attended Muslim Mosques and community centers in Houston (as well as churches, synagogues), along with other Republican candidates for office (Congress). I heard sermons that sounded very much like the sermons I heard in churches and at synagogues - be good, take care of your family, pray - the same guiding principles. During that experience I learned that the Muslim Koran says positive things about Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The Jewish Torah doesn't mention it because they are still waiting for the 'messiah.'

Unlike most Americans, I was lucky enough to travel the world and actually see what is going on rather than just relying on TV and a blank slate on what other people are like. I traveled to Muslim countries as part of over 50 countries (including Hindu India and atheist China) during my negotiating days early in my career.

I found that the majority of Muslim people are not like Al Qaida; they are like us. They want opportunities for work and a good education for their kids, and to be left alone. Just like everyone else I've met on this planet. They also tend to be conservative.

But like all religions, including Christians and Jews, there are Muslim extremists who can't tolerate anything other than their own narrow views. Do we punish the entire community for the acts of a murderer - or just the murderer?

In a world short on freedoms of religion, America must remain the special example it was when our founding fathers established our Constitutional framework. We do not establish a state religion nor should we prohibit the practice of a religion, even when its near a place where a terrible crime was committed.

If we forsake our Constitutional values, we will be committing a worse crime - a crime against our founding fathers to insure that all religions are treated equally.